Anyone with shoveling experience knows that it can be very strenuous work, and any shovel improvements that would make the job easier would be welcome and desirable.
Hand shovels are commonly used for moving many different types of material, and there are basically three different types of shovels: digging shovels, which are generally used for digging and excavating; scoop shovels, which are generally used to lift and heave material; and pusher shovels, which are generally used to push material across the ground. Some pusher shovels can lift and heave material, but others (with a more vertical blade) cannot.
With one exception, all known hand shovels have shovelheads with only one useable blade face (or surface).
U.S. Pat. No. 2,728,598 discloses a combination shovel and pusher having a shovelhead comprised of two hinged blade portions, with the upper portion also being pivotally connected to the elongate shaft, such that the angular position of the upper blade face with respect to the shaft is adjustable. However, because the lower portion of the blade is permanently fixed to the shaft, the angle of the lower blade face with respect to the ground mimics the angular position of the shaft with respect to the ground. Moreover, this shovel cannot be used as such when the shaft is rotated 180 degrees, and is not intended to pull material across the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,580 B1 discloses a pusher-type shovel having a single blade which may be pivotally attached to the handle, however the pivotal connection only allows the handle to pivot on an axis which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the shovelhead. Accordingly, this shovel lacks the ergonomic benefits of a handle which can freely pivot on an axis which is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the shovelhead; and this shovel cannot be used to pull snow.
Because the realized benefits of the above described shovels are negligible, there is a need for a more useful, versatile shovel.